Noson Turner
Human male, born 7 Su'gin, LY 883, in Sorret. Son of Durell and Virtiana. Sorreter, former village councillor. The very existence of Noson (pronounced ' 'nō·sĕn') was kept secret by his parents, until 900, when he turned 17. It was during that year's Pilgrimage to Monab that Durell introduced Noson to Arch-bishop Talak. After returning from the Pilgrimage in Su'mo', Noson was introduced to Durell's core group of followers in support of The Plan, though his existence was still not revealed to the general public, nor even to those pro-Plan Sorreters who had originally been followers of Cirna (who had been ordered by Talak, during the Pilgrimage, to unite her followers under Durell's leadership). It was only after the end of the Coming of the Order, when Durell became Grand Sorreter in 904, that Noson's existence was revealed to the general public, though the fact of his existence is still not widely known outside of Sorret. It is known that while Durell and Virtiana were raising their son in secret, they trained him as their apprentice. It is said that Noson has never interacted with any spirits. While many Sorreters don't consider themselves particularly religious, they are all technically spirit-talkers, at least in the earliest stages of their training, and often later if they take on particularly advanced training. If this rumor is true, it may very well be that Noson is unique in the history of sorretry. But by the time of Noson's introduction to the public of Sorret, and in particular the Council of Magicks, his skill level as a Sorreter was that of a master-adept, and he was soon granted a place on the Council. He is not known to have ever taken on any apprentices of his own. In 907, during the second election of village councils, Noson won a place on that council, as well. (By that point he was, of course, living on his own, in a different district than his parents.) In spite of his serving with distinction on both councils, there have always been hushed questions and rumors surrounding Noson Turner, though no one dared to speak openly of such matters, until mid-912. The most obvious question was why Durell and Virtiana had hidden their son away for so many years, though during his election campaign, Noson said he had been sickly when first born, and his parents preferred to tend to him themselves (with the help of a few trusted friends, including a physician, though no names of such people have ever been provided). And by the time he'd gotten healthier, according to Noson, he had grown to be shy to the point of severe social anxiety, having spent the first several years of his life interacting with so few people. His parents indulged him by allowing him to stay home, rather than risk his having an emotional breakdown if exposed to others. However, they worked on helping him overcome his anxieties, until he was finally ready to go out in public. Even then, he remained largely sheltered, though he is believed to have played a role in helping fight the Protestants during the Coming. Noson has always declined to comment on this subject, however. Even after his election, he was only rarely seen by anyone other than his parents, his fellow Sorreters, and fellow village councillors, though he did make occasional public appearances for political reasons. While the majority of Sorretians accepted his explanations as to why no one had ever seen him, other questions remain. For example, it is said by some that he strongly resembles Noson, a former apprentice of Durell's old rival Drag, who preceded him as Grand Sorreter. However, there is no one left in Sorret who knew that Noson well enough to say with any certainty exactly how closely the younger Noson resembles the elder. That Noson has not been seen or heard from since 903, when the Protestant Sorreters all vanished during the Battle of Triscot. Furthermore, there is the question of why Durell would have named his son after that other Noson, who he is widely known to have disliked. (Durell eventually explained that he'd wanted to erase his tendency toward rivalry, so as not to pass it on to his son.) It also strikes some as a curious coincidence that Noson Turner was born around the same time that the elder Noson abandoned his apprenticeship and left Sorret to begin a life of adventure. Then there is the matter of Virtiana never having appeared to be pregnant, though some have guessed she may have used a glamour (see list of spells) to hide her pregnancy. It has been suggested that she may have done this knowing that there was a chance of miscarriage or stillbirth, and not wanting to invite sympathy should that happen, rather preventing it by not letting anyone know she'd been pregnant in the first place. None of the Turners have ever commented on this matter (probably because no one has ever asked them directly). However, shortly before the Chaos War began in 912, Durell was revealed to have engaged in a number of criminal acts over the years since the Coming ended. He was excommunicated by Talak, and became a fugitive from the police. His wife and son went on the run with him; their current whereabouts are unknown. It was only after their disappearance that the formerly hushed gossip began to surface more openly. Trivia *Noson's birthday falls on "Brist's Day" (see Holidays of the Land). *There is some debate as to the precise pronunciation of Noson's name. In fact, it might be most accurate to say it should be pronounced ' 'nō·sn', as the vowel in the second syllable is spoken so faintly and quickly that it virtually doesn't even exist. However, there is a very faint vowel sound there, which, when said properly, most closely resembles the "ĕ" sound. But different people claim to hear it (and therefore pronounce it themselves) alternately as ă, ĭ, ŏ, ô, ŭ, or ə. See also *Macen's spies Category:People